Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made
by Isabel5
Summary: New York was everything they'd hoped it would be and more.  The city of dreams.  For Rachel it reminded her of what she'd been working for her whole life, and made her realize that to achieve your dreams, sometimes you had to leave things behind.


**Title**: Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made  
><strong>Fandom<strong>: Glee  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Puck/Rachel  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M for language  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: Up to New York  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>11,308  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Don't own Glee.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: This is my Puckleberry fix to the craptastic season finale. Some of the dialogue is taken directly from the episode. This episode exists in the same universe of my "Born This Way" re-write - Your Nose Is My Favorite  
><strong>Summary: <strong>New York was everything they'd hoped it would be and more. The city of dreams. For Rachel it reminded her of what she'd been working for her whole life, and made her realize that to achieve your dreams, sometimes you had to leave things behind. For Puck it gave him a glimpse of a future he never thought he could have and hope for a second chance with the one that got away.

* * *

><p>Rachel sat in the middle of the bed, completely and utterly wide awake. All around her the girls of New Directions, and Kurt, were sleeping, peacefully, oblivious to Rachel's sudden bout of insomnia. They were in New York. It had taken three years and a lot of blood sweat and tears but they'd made it. Well more sweat and tears than blood, but there had been a bit of blood when Finn broke her nose. Rachel's problem was, they only had three days, just <em>three<em> days in the greatest city in the world. She honestly didn't understand how anyone could waste time sleeping.

She jumped when a loud snore came from beside her and she turned, expecting to see Mercedes, perhaps even Lauren. It was Santana though, her mouth hanging wide open as she made a noise that sounded like a congested Wookie juggling chainsaws. Rachel sighed and looked out the window, biting her lip, hesitating for just for a second before grabbing her jeans off the end of the bed and tiptoeing to the bathroom.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Puck sat at the end of the hotel bar, swirling the small red straw around in his completely non-alcoholic drink. The blonde bartender had taken one look at him when he'd sat down and ordered a Manhattan and shook her head before sliding a club soda with lime in front of him. Apparently she'd been warned by the other bartender to be on the lookout for a 'charming kid with a mohawk'.

He'd taken offense to the kid part but smiled at the charming part. She told him if he sat in the corner quietly and didn't bother her she wouldn't kick him out. So he'd taken his club soda and walked to the corner. He wasn't too annoyed, coming to the bar hadn't even really been about the drinking. He couldn't sleep. He'd never been out of Ohio and even in state the only place besides Lima he'd been was to Sectionals.

But here he was in New York, no way was he gonna waste a second of his three days here sleeping. Not like he'd get much sleeping done in a room with Mike, Sam and Finn. Finn talked in his sleep, and not even about embarrassing shit he can use at a later date to blackmail him with. It was just random words that didn't even make sentences and sounds that Puck really didn't want to think about. Mike, well Mike legit _danced_ in his sleep. Seriously, like his head is all on the pillow and he's totally knocked out but his feet are flying all over the place.

And Sam made a comment earlier about how he normally sleeps commando and how it'll be weird wearing boxers to bed. Now all Puck can think about is whether or not there's anything between him and Sam's junk besides a thin cotton bed sheet. That shit's not really conducive to a good night's sleep.

He was about to ask the blonde for a refill when he saw a familiar multi-colored striped jacket hurrying toward the lobby doors. He slapped a five on the bar and nodded at the bartender as he followed the jacket out onto the street. She hadn't seen him yet so he snuck up behind her and slid a hand onto her waist.

She jumped about two feet in the air, covering her mouth to suppress a shriek as she spun around to see her attacker. Puck couldn't help it, he laughed and that just pissed her off even more. She smacked him hard and then shoved him away before smacking him one more time for good measure. "Noah! You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Puck held up his hands to keep her from hitting him again. "I just couldn't resist."

Rachel glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest as he got his laughter under control. "What are you even doing out here? You're supposed to be asleep."

"So are you," he pointed out. "And FYI, the next time you want to sneak out of someplace, I suggest black." Puck grabbed at the sleeve of her jacket, his fingers sliding under the cuff and ghosting across the bare skin of her wrist.

Rachel shivered and she knew it had nothing to do with the slight chill in the air and everything to do with the Puck's sudden proximity. "Yes, well, next time we do this, I'll let you pick my wardrobe."

Puck smiled at the thought that there might be a next time. "So where are we going?"

"We?" Rachel raised her eyebrows.

"I can't sleep," Puck shrugged, letting go of her wrist and stuffing his hands in his jacket pocket. "And no way in hell am I letting you wander around New York at night by yourself." She offered him a disgruntled pout.

"I do not need a baby sitter Noah." She actually was a bit scared at the prospect of exploring the city on her own but she certainly didn't need Puck to know that.

Puck snorted. "Do I need to remind you that not ten hours ago you let a guy run your credit card through his butt crack?"

"Touché," Rachel said finally giving in. She turned back to the street to survey the city. There was just too much to do and too little time with which to do it. It was overwhelming and she had no idea where to start. Then she turned and saw Puck looking out at the city with the same wonder as her and she smiled as she got an idea. "Follow me."

She hurried down the hotel steps and the valet held out his hand, hailing a cab for them. Rachel climbed in and Puck hesitated for less than a second before following her. "Where are we going?" he asked but she just smiled at him, giving nothing away.

"City Hall please," Rachel told the cabdriver as he pulled out into traffic.

"You had a sudden urge to visit City Hall?" Puck asked. "At night?"

"Just, trust me this time ok?" Rachel said and Puck smiled, remembering that he'd spoken those same words to her only a month before when he'd dragged her to the mall for her Barbaravention. That made him remember the last time they were alone together, the next morning in her bedroom when he'd pretty much admitted that he wanted her to have his babies.

They'd both done a pretty good job of ignoring each other since then. He broke up with Lauren because even if Rachel was pretending like it never happened, it happened and he couldn't ignore that. Lauren had been pretty cool about the whole thing, especially when he agreed that he'd still go to prom with her to help her win Prom Queen.

Then Jesse St. Asswipe showed up out of nowhere and Rachel was sucked into his vortex of crazy again and Puck had no idea how that fucking happened. Of course that's when Finn decided that he just had to have Rachel back which was something Puck was not gonna get in the middle of. Again. So Puck took a step back and watched as Finn and Jesse played a twisted game of tug of war with Rachel in the middle. The worst part was he didn't even think it was about Rachel anymore, it was just about winning at this point.

The cab stopped and Rachel leaned over the seat, sliding some bills into the cabbie's hand as Puck opened the door and got out. Rachel got out behind him and he looked up at the brick building. There was nothing overly spectacular about it, looked almost exactly like City Hall back in Lima. "Rach, seriously what are we doing here?"

She didn't say anything just slid her hand in his and turned, pulling him behind her as she hurried across the street. She stopped abruptly, almost causing him to slam into her back but he grabbed onto her waist to steady himself. She didn't seem to notice, to busy throwing her free hand out with a flourish as she smiled at him, "Ta-dah!" Puck looked up at the brick arches and sweeping metal cables of the Brooklyn Bridge in awe. "I heard you say something earlier today about dropping stuff off of it and while I don't necessarily condone an act that's basically littering, I've always wanted to walk across the Promenade at night."

Puck smiled and squeezed her waist and it was his turn to pull her along as he headed up the path. Neither of them spoke as they made their way to the center of the bridge. When they got there, they stopped and leaned against the railing and Rachel sucked in a deep breath. "This is so bad ass," Puck said, nodding back at the city skyline. "I mean just look at that."

The lights of the city spread out in front of them, making the sky shine so brightly it was hard to imagine it was actually three in the morning. Cars whizzed by below them on their way to and from the city and for the first time Rachel fully understood that New York was the city that never sleeps. "It's beautiful," Rachel breathed out.

If Puck was a pussy this would be where he said, "_You're beautiful"_ and kissed her until she couldn't breathe but he didn't say anything. He was content just to watch her watch the city.

"I read this thing once, about astronauts," Puck said softly. "Apparently the ones who actually got to go out in space had a really hard time adjusting to life when they got home. They said that seeing the earth from up there was so amazing, nothing else could ever compare. Most of them spent the rest of their lives figuring out how to see it again, just one more time." He could feel Rachel turn to look at him but he just kept looking at the city.

"That's sweet," Rachel said then frowned. "And kind of sad."

"Yeah. I never really understood it before. I mean sure, space is awesome. Like what little boy doesn't want to be an astronaught when he grows up, but now…" Puck stopped because if he didn't stop now he'd really sound like a pussy.

"Now?" Rachel asked softly.

"It's just," Puck gestured hopelessly at the city. "I don't know how I'm supposed to go back to Lima after this." Puck asked seriously, chancing a look at Rachel.

"I know what you mean," she said putting a soft hand on his arm. "This is…everything I ever wanted, everything I ever worked for and it's here, right in front of me. It's like all I have to do-"

"Is reach out and take it." Puck finished for her and she nodded. "So what are you waiting for?" Puck leaned closer and whispered in her ear.

"I don't—" Rachel stopped and turned away from him. "I don't know," She admitted.

"Is it Finn?" Puck asked, resolutely staring out into the water, scared of what her answer might be.

"I don't think so," she frowned trying to figure out how to say what she was feeling. There was probably a song that expressed everything she wanted to say far better than she ever could but this needed to be in _her_ words. "For two years I've been trying to figure out how to make myself fit into Finn's life. But now, being here, _seeing this_ I'm starting to wonder, for the first time, how he fits into mine."

"Maybe he doesn't," Puck said before he could stop himself. He waited, expecting her to blow up at him, expecting her to give him a million and one reasons why Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry were fucking perfect for each other—each reason more ridiculous the last. But she didn't.

"You're right. Maybe he doesn't." Rachel said softly and Puck froze. He didn't want to move, didn't want to breath or do anything that might burst this sudden self-aware bubble she'd found herself in. "Maybe I just wanted him to fit so badly that I _made_ him fit. Sort of like when you try to force a puzzle piece into the wrong place. You might eventually get it in there but the puzzle will never be totally right. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," Puck nodded. "So wait, Finn's the puzzle piece and you're the puzzle?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Rachel laughed. "All I know is when I think about the future, this is where I want to be more than anything in the world."

"I can see you out here you know," Puck said and Rachel beamed up at him.

"Yeah? And what am I doing?" Rachel asked.

"You know, taking on the big bad city, Mary Tyler Moore style," Puck shrugged and Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Shut up, my mom used to make me watch with her when I was little." And suddenly he could totally see Rachel as Mary Tyler Moore; Single girl versus The City. He could even see her doing the silly little spin and throwing her hat up in the air.

"I like Mary Tyler Moore," Rachel said to him. "She had spunk."

Puck laughed. "Look, all I'm saying is you'll be back here, before the ink even dries on your diploma probably. You'll go to college and take over Broadway and never look back."

Rachel ducked her head, "And you, what about you?"

"Me?" Puck took a deep breath. "I think I'll end up just like those astronauts. I'll probably spend the rest of my life just trying to figure out how to get back here."

They didn't say anything after that, just stared out into the water for a while. Then Puck nudged Rachel's shoulder with his until she looked over at him. He nodded his head down at the water then looked back up at Rachel, practically pleading with her with his eyes.

"Fine," Rachel sighed and Puck smiled brightly, looking at the area around them until he saw an empty bottle. He picked it up and chucked it over the railing, watching as it sailed out over the bridge and fell to the water with a silent splash. "That was awesome," he said and started digging in his pockets for more things to throw.

Ten minutes later his pockets were empty and he'd thrown a pack of gum, a guitar pick, a handful of coins and whatever else he could find off the bridge and Rachel was bored. "Are you finished?"

"Yeah," Puck nodded then frowned and patted his pockets frantically. "Shit. I totally threw my car keys out there."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The next day, Puck reclined on the couch, barely paying attention to whatever dumbass lyrics the guys were throwing around. He just wanted to fucking sleep. He and Rachel finally made their way back to the hotel around six. Puck had barely snuck back into the room, stripped off his clothes and climbed into his bed when Mr. Shue banged on the door telling them it was time to wake up.

He closed his eyes as Sam started complaining how nothing rhymed with 'citrus'. Puck bit his tongue because why the hell was Sam writing a song about citrus anyway. Then suddenly Finn cut in saying some bullshit about how he thinks that to win Nationals, he and Rachel should sing a duet. Puck barely suppressed a snort at that because he's pretty sure the sudden urge to do a duet with Rachel, something she'd been begging Finn to do for months now, had nothing to do with winning Nationals.

Puck's eyes flew open then, because seriously he just couldn't take it anymore. "Ok, can we just talk about the Jewish elephant in the room? Ask her out dude." The words felt heavy on his tongue, almost as if his own body was having trouble forcing them out. But he needed to know. More importantly Rachel needed to know if Finn fit in her life, if Finn was really the one that she wanted. And the only way he could see to do that, the only way to be absolutely sure was to try it one last time, give them one more chance. So he would help her, no matter how much it hurt him.

"Who Rachel? But she's totally into Jesse right now." Finn whined and Puck resisted the urge to throw the couch cushions at his head. The guy dumped Quinn for Rachel but when given the chance to actually go after her, he was gonna wuss out.

"You're in New York, the city of love—"

"I thought that was Paris," Sam said through a mouth full of chips and Puck glared.

"Anything's possible here. You need to ask her out. Tonight. Take her on one of those big awful dates you see in those unwatchable romantic comedies that you grow a vagina if you watch all the way through." Puck said.

"This is your shot dude. If I was in love with a girl, and wasn't homeless I'd totally go for it." Sam nodded at him and Puck glared again because he did not need Sam putting words like 'love' in Finn's head right now.

And that's how, later that night, Puck found himself leaning against a brick wall, his eyes closed, the accordion around his neck making him feel only slightly less dorky than what he was actually about to do with it. Mike was trying to teach Sam some crazy spin thing and Artie could tell that he obviously wasn't in the mood to talk because he was keeping to himself. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he dug it, seeing Kurt's name on the screen.

_You better hope this doesn't blow up in your face._

Puck snorted because yeah, he'd pretty much been praying to Jew God for the past four hours that exact same thing. Before he could respond to Kurt his phone beeped again with another new message, this one from Blaine.

_Don't listen to him. When it comes to matters of the heart he's an eternal pessimist. You're doing the right thing. Just remember: If you love something set it free, if it comes back, it's yours._

Puck laughed. Somehow over the last few months Blaine had become Puck's official Rachel Berry cheerleader. It was weird but not entirely unwelcome. He had no idea why Blaine was so gung ho for Rachel and Puck to work but it was nice, to have someone on his side for a change.

"Look alive," Mike said, elbowing Puck in the ribs. He slid his phone back in his pocket and grabbed the accordion. He looked up and saw Rachel walking toward them. Her arm was nestled in Finn's and she had this soft little smile on her face. She looked up and saw him, her eyes darting from him over the guys and then to the accordion hanging around his neck. Her smile got a bit bigger and he couldn't help but smile back as she turned away from him and back at Finn.

"Tonight felt like one of those awesome nights you see in one of those amazing romantic comedies," she said and his heart clenched. "All we need now is a group of street singers to serenade us and it will be perfect," he could hear a teasing note in her voice and that was all he needed to push off the wall and start to sing, walking along behind them.

"This is the moment in those romantic comedies where I kiss you," Finn said and Puck's jaw clenched. Kurt was right. This was stupid. This had to be one of the stupidest fucking things he'd ever done in his life. He had no idea what he was doing here, helping Finn seduce Rachel on the most kick-ass date of all time, fucking serenading her for him. And now he was going to have to watch as he kissed her. Fuck his life.

"I thought this was just a work date," Rachel whispered.

"Really?" Finn asked.

"No," Rachel said.

Puck stared, completely against his will. He couldn't turn away as Finn cradled Rachel's chin and leaned in and then…stopped. "I can't." Rachel said and Puck's fingers almost slipped off the keys.

"Take a chance on me," Finn practically begged and Puck sucked in a breath, waiting for her answer. For a second, just one second, she looked over Finn's shoulder and her eyes locked on his. Just for a second but that was all he needed.

"I'm sorry Finn. I can't," she turned and ran and away.

Puck knew he should stop singing, knew the last thing Finn wanted to hear as he watched the supposed love of his life walk away from him was a sappy love song from and admittedly kick ass Disney movie, but something in him just couldn't seem to stop playing. It really was turning out to be a beautiful night.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rachel took in a deep breath. She couldn't believe that she was having breakfast at Tiffany's. Ok a bagel and awful coffee but still. She loved that Kurt suggested it, loved that he knew somehow this was exactly what she needed. Having friends certainly had its advantages.

"You're the only one besides me who understands how amazing this place is," Rachel paused and thought about the look on Noah's face as they stood on the Brooklyn Bridge and stared out at the city together. Maybe he understood too. "When we graduate, I'm coming back here and I'm going to college. This is where I belong."

"I'm so coming too. And I talked to Blaine. He's on board as well." Kurt smiled happily.

"Good. What am I gonna do about Finn? I think he wants to get back together but I can't have anything keep me from my Manhattan destiny." Rachel said.

Kurt shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Bring him along. He'll be great if we have to move anything heavy."

Rachel snorted into her coffee cup. "Finn won't come; he's too much of a country boy."

"What about Puck?" Kurt asked, making sure to keep one eye on her as he sipped his coffee.

"Noah?" Rachel turned to him startled. "What about Noah?" Kurt just raised an eyebrow. "Noah is just a friend."

"A friend who wants to have babies with you," Kurt said and Rachel blushed. She was regretting telling him about that particular conversation more and more these days. "Blaine had a field day with that one by the way."

"I would appreciate it if your boyfriend would stop obsessing over my non-existent relationship with Noah. And he was just trying to make me feel better about my nose," Rachel reached up and touched her nose gently. "That's all."

"Oh God, the two of you are so blind I'm surprised you're not walking into walls." Kurt mumbled under his breath and

Rachel frowned at him and he grabbed her shoulders. "Puck does not want to be your friend Rachel. I'm not even sure you and Puck _can_ be friends." Rachel pulled away, his words stinging just as much as the ones Noah spoke to her over a year ago on the bleachers. Kurt noticed her flinch and sighed. "That's not what I meant. I just mean there's too much between you guys for you to ever be _just_ friends."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rachel sputtered.

"Oh please honey, even you are not that naïve," Kurt shook his head.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Be it Finn or Jesse or even Noah, I can't let them get in the way of my dream." Rachel said.

"Ah, the age old dilemma: Love or career. I suppose you're going to have to make a choice." Kurt said.

"But I don't know how." Rachel said.

Kurt paused and then smiled. "I do. Follow me." He took off down the street.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Puck leaned against the wall and watched Rachel _own_ the empty theater. He could only imagine how mind blowing she'd be with a full house. "She's good," the security guard said from Puck's side. "We get a lot of people in here with stars in their eyes and dreams a hell of lot bigger than their talent but this one…she might just make it."

"No might about it. She's _gonna_ make it," Puck pushed himself off the wall as Rachel hugged Kurt tightly. He clapped, startling the both of them as he walked down the aisle toward the stage.

"Noah, what are you doing here?" Rachel asked and Kurt didn't miss the soft smile that flittered across her face.

"If you keep insisting on sneaking out, then I'm just going to have to keep following you," Puck said and this time it was Kurt's turn to smile.

"Is that so?" he asked under his breath but Puck froze for a second and Kurt knew that he'd heard.

"Seriously though, the only thing more dangerous than you alone in the city is you and Kurt alone in the city together," Puck said as he jumped up on the stage and looked at Kurt. "Besides your boyfriend made me promise to look after you."

"He did?" Kurt asked, a soft smile lighting up his face. "That's so sweet. I'm going to go call him." Kurt pulled his phone out and walked away to call Blaine.

"How did you find us?" Rachel asked sitting down at the edge of the stage and letting her legs swing down into the orchestra pit. Puck sat down, pulled out his phone and tossed it to her. She looked down at the screen and read.

_Exploring NYC with RB*. I refuse to leave until we've belted one out on a real Broadway stage! _

"Is this Kurt's twitter page?" Rachel asked trying to hide her smile.

Puck rolled his eyes and took his phone back. "After that it wasn't too hard to figure out where you were. Came down here and then just walked up and down the street until I heard what sounded like two chicks singing." Rachel glared and shoved his shoulder playfully. "So last night?" Puck asked.

Rachel cringed thinking about it. "How upset was he?"

"He didn't like cry or anything. I think mainly he was just confused. And probably a little embarrassed." Puck said. "What happened? I mean you guys looked like you were having a good time."

"Dinner was great. Though I think that had more to do with meeting one of my idols and less to do with the actual food. And the moonlight stroll was certainly romantic enough. The beautiful serenade was, of course, the highlight of the evening," she winked at him and he smiled. "But then he was about to kiss me and something was just off."

"What?"

"I didn't know until I was up there just now. I mean, this is just an empty theater, there isn't even an orchestra but my palms were sweaty and my heart was beating out of my chest and I couldn't seem to catch my breath and I realized that I didn't feel that way with Finn, I haven't for a while."

"You looked good up there." Puck told her honestly.

"I felt good up there." Rachel let out a breath and smiled. "For the first time in a long time I felt like myself, like the old Rachel Berry. I think somewhere in the Finn/Quinn/Jesse/Santana disaster that was the last year and a half of my life I lost her. I realize now the only way to make me truly happy is to find her again." Rachel said.

"How are you going to do that?" Puck asked her.

"I need to work on me. It's time I learned how to make myself happy so I don't have to rely on anyone else to make me happy. This is my time. I need to go after my dreams and not let anyone or anything get in my way."

"So Finn?"

Rachel shook her head. "This is something I need to do on my own."

Puck smiled, 'own her own' wasn't ideal but it was better than 'with Finn' and he'd take it. "For what it's worth I hope you find her, because I kind of miss her."

"Yeah? I kind of miss her too." Rachel nodded.

"So Blaine says 'Hi'," Kurt plopped down next to Rachel and sighed that sort of dreamy sigh that Puck used to think only twelve year old girls were capable of. "He also told me to tell you that he booked the hotel rooms for Arizona this morning and everything's set."

"Hell yeah," Puck smiled, leaning back on his elbows.

"Care to explain to me what you'll be doing in a hotel room in Arizona, with my boyfriend? Without me?" Kurt asked him.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Hotel rooms, plural," he stood up and held out his hand to Rachel, pulling her to her feet. "Blaine's got an Uncle who does PR work for the Red's. He got us ridiculous access to Spring Training. You're more than welcome to come along. A whole week of nothing but baseball, 24/7."

"I'll pass," Kurt scowled. "Arizona's a dry heat. Do you have any idea the havoc that would wreak on my pores?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Puck and Mike stood on the edge of the stage, running through the dance steps one last time waiting for their names to be called and the curtain to be raised. Mike stopped mid spin and Puck slammed hard into his side, almost sending the both of them crashing to the ground. "What the fuck dude?" Puck groaned, rubbing his shoulder. Dude might be a ninja but he was a seriously boney ninja.

"Check it out," Mike nodded at something over Puck's shoulder. "I think we're dangerously close to reaching meltdown levels of Chernobyl proportions."

Puck turned around to see what Mike was talking about and saw Rachel practically screaming, gesturing wildly at Brittany of all people, who looked like she was about to cry. Which would explain the murderous look on Santana's face and the restraining hand Sam had on her elbow.

"Shit," Puck said under his breath and walked away from Mike without another word, grabbed Rachel by the elbow and pulled her away, shooting Santana a look telling her he had the situation under control. "Rachel stop talking right now and calm the fuck down."

"I will not 'calm the fuck down'," Rachel said in the same tone his sister used with him when he told her to go clean her room. In fact Puck was pretty sure that the only reason she didn't stomp her foot on the ground in annoyance was because she was moving too fast trying to keep up with him.

"Look, you were yelling a Brittany. You just…you don't yell at Brittany, that shit's not Kosher. Santana was like five seconds away from cutting your ass," Puck told her coming to a stop at the edge of the stage and spinning Rachel around to look at him. "She's crazy. You know she carries razor blades in her hair?" Rachel huffed but calm down a little, taking a few deep breaths in and out. "Better? Now do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"This. This is what's wrong," she said shoving a handful of sheet music in his chest. He looked down and realized it was the song that Finn wrote and he wasn't sure if she meant the song itself or the whole situation but at this point it didn't really matter.

"Ok, so what? You need a peep talk?" Puck asked, "Cause I kick ass at pep talks."

"I'm sure you do Noah," Rachel said. "But I don't think a pep talk is gonna help me now. We wrote these songs yesterday. Yesterday! We spent four hours on the choreography. The other teams have been working on their sets for months. We're not even in the same league as them I can't believe we did this. Again. We're never going to—" Rachel's eyes went wide and she looked down to see Puck's hand over her mouth.

"Don't bite me," he said suddenly and Rachel rolled her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look, just chill ok. You're right. We're not in their league. Our songs are good but we need another few weeks at least to make them great." He dropped his hand and Rachel glared at him.

"You lied," Rachel grumbled. "You kind of suck at pep talks."

Puck laughed. "We're not gonna win. We just _can't_. But that's not the point."

"It's not?" Rachel asked unconvinced.

"The point is we're here. The point is we made it this far so we might as well make the best of it."

"The best of losing?" Rachel scoffed.

"Hey when you know you're not gonna win, you don't have anything to lose." Puck shrugged. "The thing is, they don't know. They all think we've still got a chance at winning this thing and right now that's the only thing that's keeping them going. And it's the only thing that's going to keep them from going out there and making complete idiot's of themselves. So you need to pull it together, you need to stop freaking out so they don't freak out. You need to pretend like you still believe we can do this."

"You want me to lie?" Rachel scrunched up her nose in disgust. "But I'm a terrible liar."

"Don't think of it as lying, think of it as acting. You wanna be on Broadway someday right? Well you can't just sing your way to the top. You've got to be able to act too. Think of this as practice." Puck said. "Act like you think they're good. Act like you think they can win." Rachel nodded slowly. "Ok? Give it a try."

Rachel turned just as Tina walked by and she called out the other girl's name, causing her to stop, her whole body rigid with fear. "I just wanted to say, that you sounded wonderful today. And not at all flat in the middle section."

"Thanks," Tina said, her smile slightly confused as she resumed her walk across the stage and Puck bit back the laughter threatening to burst out of him.

"Sam!" Rachel called out, getting into the groove. "Your choreography has gotten much better. And I certainly don't think coming in just a half a beat to early in the turn out anymore." Sam looked at her then at Puck then back at Rachel and nodded before walking away. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Rachel said excitedly. "Santana."

The Latina froze at the sound of Rachel calling out her name and spun around slowly. Puck's grip tightened on Rachel's elbow as he leaned in, his lips right next to her ear. "No, no, no, no, no. Just…don't. Razorblade's in her hair," he reminded Rachel who swallowed hard.

"What?" Santana asked when Rachel didn't say anything. She stared the Rachel down, her hands on her hips.

"Good luck," Rachel finally said and Santana rolled her eyes.

"Bitch please. I don't _need_ luck." She turned back around and resumed her conversation with Brittany and Puck let out a relieved breath.

"See, not so hard." Puck told her and Rachel's face fell.

"What about when I'm singing?" Rachel asked him. "This is a _love song_ Noah." She pointed to the sheet music in his hands and he raised an eyebrow at her. "To me."

"Caught on to that did you?" he chuckled.

Rachel rolled her eyes and sighed. "Finn's not exactly subtle. It's just, when I'm singing I need to feel the music, I need to feel the meaning and the longing behind this and I just can't. Not with Finn. Not anymore."

"So, don't sing it to Finn," Puck shrugged. "You told Kurt this morning that New York was your one true love so sing it to New York." Rachel looked skeptical and he sighed. "Whenever you need to feel it, just close your eyes and picture a time this week that you were really happy. Think about singing on that stage with Kurt, or Central Park or the Ferry Ride around the Statue of Liberty. Just, think about the reasons why you love this city, and why you want to come back so badly."

"One minute to curtain for New Directions," a voice called out backstage.

"I should get out there," Rachel told Puck. "Thanks."

Puck nodded and watched as Rachel put on her show face before turning around and heading to the middle of the stage. Her steps faltered for a second when she saw Finn standing there waiting for her and he let the arm that was still on her elbow slide down and grasp her hand. He gave it a small squeeze and she turned, flashing him a genuine smile before letting go and walked off to meet Finn center stage.

He felt his stomach churn in a way that had nothing to do with nerves and everything to do with the sudden horrifying thought that this would always be his life. Standing on the sidelines, watching Rachel walk away from him and toward Finn. He watched as Finn said something to Rachel. He looked almost upset. Rachel just shook her head, answering him softly before turning away and the churning in Puck's stomach lessened when he saw that whatever Rachel had said didn't make Finn happy. And that made Puck happy.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The curtain lifted and the music started and Rachel could feel Finn like he was right next to her though he was on the other side of the stage completely. His presence was suddenly so oppressive and Rachel wasn't sure if she could breath with him that close much less sing. Then she closed her eyes and remembered Noah's advice.

She thought about stepping out of the airport and onto the streets of New York City for the first time three days ago and the nervous excitement that bubbled up in her threatening to spill out over everything and she started to sing. The words slipped from her lips, not quite the truth but not quite a lie as she stared at Finn and thought about standing outside of Tiffany's with Kurt drinking horribly wretched coffee, eating the absolute best bagels in the world, dreaming about the future.

The song was almost over now and Rachel imagined that she was back on that Broadway stage and put all the longing she had for that life, that future, into every note that poured out of her mouth. And suddenly Finn was right in front of her, looking at her in a way she would have given anything for three months ago but now was just too little, too late and she wasn't sure if she could handle it.

So she closed her eyes and she tried to think about the moment this week she'd felt the happiest. An image of the city skyline popped into her mind immediately. Her hair blowing in the wind, the smell of the water rising up to meet her and the feel of Noah's shoulder, strong and solid and safe under her cheek as they stood on the Brooklyn Bridge and stared in wonder at the city laid out before them.

The final notes of the song faded out and she was so caught up in the memory, it took her a minute to realize that Finn was kissing her and another to realize that she was kissing him back and when she pulled away he was smiling down at her.

She couldn't help compare it to another smile, a smile that Noah had given her the night before, when they got back to the hotel. He'd walked her to her room, dropped a kiss on her forehead and smiled at her. A smile that hinted at a secret that only the two of them knew, that only the two of them would ever know after sharing an incredible night alone in the city together.

She knew that she and Finn would never have a smile like that and if she'd had any doubt before that she'd made the right choice, it was all washed away in that one moment. Now she just had to figure out how to explain that to Finn.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rachel opened the door to the library slowly. She'd gotten a text from Puck a few minutes earlier asking her to meet him in there. Puck being in the library wasn't completely unheard of. There was apparently a very comfortable space in the back of the reference section that no one ever used and he'd been known to take naps there when the nurse kicked him out of her office. Still, she was right to be cautious these days.

Word was Santana had put a price on her head. Oh she wasn't going to have Rachel killed or anything as dramatic as that but the rumor was Santana was offering twenty dollars for every time Rachel got slushied, plus re-imbursement for the price of the slushie itself. She'd already had to change clothes three times today.

Rachel had considered offering double what Santana was for every slushie that wasn't thrown at her, which would still end up being cheaper than her dry cleaning bill but an informal poll done by Jacob Bin Israel revealed the prospect of tossing a slushie in Rachel's face was better than cold hard cash.

Rachel looked left then right then sniffed the air. Assured that there wasn't a lingering scent of artificial fruit flavoring and corn syrup, she stepped into the room. She didn't _really_ think that Puck would set her up for anything like that, but she wouldn't put it past Santana to steal his phone and send her the text message.

It seemed like Puck was the only one in Glee that didn't blame her for loosing Nationals. He'd even stood up for her back at the hotel when Santana went black out crazy and started tearing her a new one in Spanish.

"_Oh my God, chill the fuck out Lopez," Puck said stepping swiftly in between Rachel and the Latina when he realized that Finn wasn't going to try and stop it. "We didn't lose because of the kiss, which even if we had, she wasn't kissing herself up there," Puck cut his eyes to Finn who was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head bowed in defeat. "We lost because we fucking sucked." _

_Everyone froze at that declaration and all the ire in the room was instantly transferred from Rachel to him. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that please? Cause I know you did not just tell me that I sucked." Santana snapped._

"_I didn't say you sucked, personally," Puck assured her quickly before she started going for the razorblades. "I said we all sucked. I mean come on. We wrote those songs the day before the competition and they weren't even that good. They did nothing to showcase the vocals of our best singers and the choreography was rushed and sloppy and nowhere near our best work." Mike and Brittany exchanged a glance because they knew he was right. _

"_So please tell me exactly what it is you're blaming Rachel for here? For the fact that she's been telling us every day for the past six months that we needed to concentrate on our set list for Nationals? For the fact that she's constantly tried to stress how important it is to prepare for a competition like this? All she's ever done is try and look out for our best interests from day one and we've ignored her, even made fun of her for it. Well this is what you get. Maybe next time you'll listen." _

Santana had stopped screaming but Rachel could tell the other girl still blamed her. Granted Puck's speech made her realized that perhaps Finn should share some of the blame and kneed him in the balls on her way out the door. Everyone else had grumbled a half hearted apology that Rachel half heartedly accepted. Things had been strained since then but they were getting better.

Rachel didn't see Puck in the main room so she headed toward the back, checking the stacks in case he was taking a nap. She stopped when she found not Puck but Finn. Things had been even more strained between the two of them since they got back from New York. She'd told him they needed to talk and Finn must have guessed what she was going to say because he'd been avoiding her ever since.

"Where have you been?" Rachel asked stepping in between the stacks.

"Hiding out. Everyone hates me." Finn flipped the stupid snow glove over in his hands and watched the white flakes fall on the small model of New York City.

"No they don't," Rachel rolled her eyes. "And that doesn't explain why you haven't said a word to me since we got back."

"You should be more pissed at me than anyone else. I screwed up, I'm humiliated and we worked so hard for everything and I was supposed to be this big shot leader holding everyone together and I blew it, cost us the championship." Rachel wanted to point out that the fact that they sucked cost them the championship but the last thing she wanted was to kick him when he was down, especially considering she was about to break his heart.

She sat down next to him, choosing her words carefully. "Look. Being an artist is about expressing your true feeling in the moment regardless of the consequences. What were you feeling in that moment?"

"That I loved you and that I would have done or given anything to kiss you one more time." Rachel closed her eyes. She was afraid he was going to say that. She'd been hoping he'd just admit to getting caught up in the moment but of course she wasn't that lucky.

"So you did. You gave it all up for one kiss," she paused. "Was it worth it?"

"Yeah." he smiled. "What about you, was it worth it for you?"

Rachel opened her mouth, unsure how to do this and do it gently. "Yeah," she nodded. And she wasn't lying, it had been worth it because it let her know for sure that she was over Finn. "Cause I know in my heart that we have another shot at nationals." Finn's face fell but Rachel pressed on. "You have to know that I'm leaving Finn. I'm going to New York and I'm never coming back."

"Graduation is a year away. You got any plans until then?" Finn asked her and before Rachel could explain to him how that really wasn't the point he was kissing her. Again.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Puck checked his watch and sighed. He'd texted Rachel like twenty minutes ago. He was gonna be late for the Glee meeting if he waited any longer. At least he knew she'd be there, even if half the club thought she was to blame for their loss, she still wouldn't skip. He gathered up all the papers he'd printed out and the packets the librarian had given him and headed for the choir room.

He frowned when he heard was sounded like Rachel's voice coming from one of the stacks. He peered around the corner and saw Rachel sitting on the ground with Finn. "Cause I know in my heart that we have another shot at nationals," she said and then took a deep breath. "You have to know that I'm leaving Finn. I'm going to New York and I'm never coming back." Puck smiled, proud of her for finally telling him, for letting him know that they couldn't last.

"Graduation is a year away. You got any plans until then?" Finn asked and Puck's jaw dropped. There was no way Hudson had actually just said what Puck thought he'd just said. Rachel deserved more than that, more than a year of fooling around, more than a relationship that had an expiration date. He waited for her to tell him just that, waited for her tear into him but she didn't. She didn't say anything and Puck chanced another look around the corner to see the reason she wasn't saying anything was because her tongue was far too busy shoving itself down Finn's throat to talk.

Puck stared at them, wondering just how many times this chick had to burn him before he finally got the message. Well he was done, this was it. He didn't understand how she could say all the shit she said back in New York and then just fall back into Hudson's arms the second they got back in Lima. Puck didn't get what it was about the guy, what it was exactly about him all the girl's loved.

Quinn, Rachel, Santana and Brittany; they all went ape shit over the guy like he had a ten inch dick made of gold plated chocolate or something. Which Puck knew for a fact was not the case. He'd shared a locker room with Finn for three years and the guy wasn't exactly overly endowed. Puck was bigger and he sure as hell knew how to use it better.

He didn't need this. He didn't need Rachel Berry and he certainly didn't need spend the rest of his life living on Rachel Berry's sideline. He stormed to the library doors and shoved them open. One slammed into a Freshman, catching him right in the nose. Puck was pretty sure he saw blood but he didn't stop to see if the kid was alright because he honestly didn't give a fuck.

"Twelth place Puckerman?" A hockey douche asked nodding to the banner that Figgin's had put up for them. "My mom could have done better than that."

Puck's fists clenched and dropped the papers in his hands to the ground, grabbing the guy's letter jacket and slamming him up against the lockers. "I've had your mom. Trust me she's not that good."

Hockey douche's face went red and Puck saw the fist coming for his face but he didn't move because if they guy hit him first, Figgin's wouldn't give him detention or call his Probation officer. He waited until the pain exploded in his jaw before lodging his forearm under the guy's neck and slamming his fist into the guy's stomach.

Hockey douche doubled over, falling to the ground the second Puck pulled his arm away. He was reaching down to pull him back up to his feet when someone grabbed him around his waist and pulled him away. "Get him up and get him out of here." Whoever had Puck yelled at another student and they grabbed the Hockey douche and pulled him down the hall.

"Get off me," Puck growled and the arms released him. He spun around furious and stopped when he saw Mr. Shue.

"Puck, just calm down," Will held up his hands and Puck sighed, falling back against the lockers as he tried to get his breathing under control. He looked up and saw Will looking at him in disappointment and that was just way too much to take at the moment so he crumpled to the ground, leaning his head against his knees.

Will bent down and gathered up all the papers Puck had dropped before sliding down to the floor next to him against the lockers. "You want to tell me what that was about?" he asked quietly.

"No," Puck panted and shook his head. "Is this where you lecture me?" Puck looked up and turned to him.

"No," Will said and leaned his head back up against the locker. "You know what you did was wrong and you know why it was wrong. I'm not going to treat you like a child." Puck raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "I'm just going to say this. I've watched you over the past two years go from a selfish scared little kid to a man. You've grown up so much from the guy who tossed kids in dumpsters to the guy who managed to get the entire football team to put on make-up and dance and sing in front of the whole school."

"Is there a point to all this or did you just want to point out what a pussy I've become?" Puck asked.

"My point is, you're not this guy anymore," Will said pulling out a handkerchief and passing it to Puck, motioning to the blood that was falling out of the corner of his mouth. "So what's wrong?"

"You want to know what's wrong?" Puck asked, dabbing at the corner of his mouth and laughing humorlessly as he nodded down the hall where Rachel and Finn were heading into the choir room together. "That's what wrong. He keeps hurting her. Over and over again and yet she keeps on going back to him and I don't understand. He's no good for her and in the end all he's going to do is hold her back. She's gonna leave this place and never look back and that's what she should do because she's better than this. She's better than _him_ and I wish she could just see that."

"Maybe you really wish that she could just see you?" Will asked with a smile and Puck turned to him to protest but stopped and shook his head. There really was no use in denying it anymore.

"God, at this point, it's so not even about me. It's about her. It's about what's best for her and if that ends up being me then that's awesome but if it ends up being someone else, then yeah, it'll suck you know but if it makes her happy that's all that matters right?" Puck asked.

"Right," Will shook his head. It probably should have amazed him that Puck could be so selfless to sacrifice his happiness for someone else's. But it didn't. He'd seen him step up and take responsibility with Quinn. He'd seen how much it had killed him to give up his daughter, but he'd done it anyway because he knew that Shelby could give Beth a better life than he could. He'd seen him give up football, give up his _reputation_ for the Glee club and in the past few months especially, he'd seen Puck step up into the leadership role that Finn had all but abandoned and done everything he could to keep the Glee club together when it was on the verge of falling apart.

Will looked down at the papers in his hand, the one's Puck had dropped and looked through them. "You're thinking about going to school in New York?"

"I don't know. It was just an idea," Puck shrugged and tried to give Will back his handkerchief but Will motioned for him to just keep it. "I mean, I wanted to do some research or whatever, I thought maybe Rachel could help. She's good a stuff like that but it doesn't matter. It's a dumb idea. I don't have the grades and I really don't have the money."

"Puck do you _want_ to go to New York?" Will asked.

"Yeah. I really do." Puck said and then turned to look at Will. "I mean, and it's not even about her or anything," he said quickly so Will didn't get the wrong idea. "It's just when we were there I realized; New York was it. That was where I wanted to be, where I needed to be. Poets, musicians, actors, playwrights-every dreamer that's ever lived has passed through that town and I want to be one of them."

"Alright then," Will stood up and held out a hand to Puck.

"Alright what?" Puck asked cautiously as he got to his feet.

"If you want to go to New York, well then we'll get you to New York," Will told him.

"We?" Puck frowned.

"Your grades we can work on, it's really tests scores that they care about anyway. You've got an edge with your extra-curricular's, sports and the arts shows you're well rounded. And the money, well we can figure that one out, between scholarships and grants and student loans."

"You really think I can do it?" Puck asked him and Will nodded.

"We've got a whole year and if you're willing to put in the work, I'll do whatever I can to help. Deal?" Will held out his hand and Puck nodded and shook it.

"Deal," Puck said and Will passed him back the papers and pushed him in the direction of the choir room.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

They had the biggest celebration of any team ever to win twelfth place and even after the meeting was over everyone sort of lingered around, almost scared that with Glee club over for the year, they wouldn't see each other again until next year which was ridiculous. They still had two months of school left and it wasn't like Puck was going to stop hanging out with them just because he wasn't required to do it once a week now.

He and Artie were going to a movie this weekend and Santana was always at his house when she couldn't handle her's any more, which was like all the time these days. He'd gotten Sam a job with him at Sheet's N Things so they'd probably see each other every day. And if he wanted to see anyone else, well then he'd just fucking go see them. So the minute Mr. Shue dismissed them and Finn headed straight for Rachel, he grabbed his bag and walked out of the room. Not even bothering to say goodbye.

He was halfway to the door when he heard the familiar click of ballet flats on linoleum and closed his eyes, knowing what was coming next and dreading it. "Noah!"

He could pretend like he didn't hear her and keep walking, but she'd never believe that. It was impossible not to hear Rachel Berry. Plus the hallway was completely deserted and her voice seemed to echo off of the lockers, surrounding him. So he stopped. But he wasn't going to turn around and go to her, she wanted to talk to him, then she was going to come to him.

She was slightly out of breath by the time she made it to his side and he started walking again, not giving her a chance to rest. "I went to the library to see you but you weren't there."

"I got tired of waiting," Puck said pushing the doors open and stepping out into the parking lot.

"Oh," Rachel said and he could hear her face falling without even looking at her. "Sorry, I got caught up with…it doesn't matter. You said you needed my help with something?"

"Yep, _needed_," Puck told her opening the door and tossing his bag into his truck. "Past tense, as in I don't need it anymore. Shue's got it covered."

"Oh," Rachel stopped and he looked this time and actually saw her face fall even further.

"Look, don't worry about it. It wasn't important." He climbed into the truck and turned it on, figuring that would be that, but of course Rachel wouldn't let it. She opened the passenger's side door and slid into the truck next to him. He turned the car off and turned to her.

"Have I done something to upset you?" Rachel asked him.

"I'm not upset," Puck told her.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "Because it seems like you're upset."

"Well I'm not." He started the truck again and waited for her to get out but she didn't move, she just sat there and stared at him so he turned it off and looked at her. "Ok, fine you know what? I _am_ upset with you. I can't believe you're going to go back to him," Puck said and Rachel looked at him startled.

"What?" Rachel asked confused.

"So all that stuff in New York about working on you, about learning how to make yourself happy so you didn't have to rely on anyone else to make you happy, about going after your dreams and not letting anyone or anything get in your way. That was all just bullshit?"

"No," Rachel said insistent.

"Then explain to me why you were kissing Finn in the library," Puck said.

Rachel opened her mouth then closed it. There was a perfectly reasonable explanation for that but she really wasn't in the mood to give him a reasonable explanation when he was being so completely un-reasonable. "What's it any business of yours who I'm kissing?"

"Because if you're kissing anyone it should be me," Puck said finally and Rachel's eyes got huge at his admission.

"I don't understand." Rachel frowned. "You encouraged Finn to ask me out, you helped him plan the date—you serenaded me for him in the middle of the street. Why would you do that if you…"

"Because I thought it would finally make you see, that you would finally realize what everyone else has. You and Finn don't fit Rachel. You're New York and he's Lima. And I thought you did understand. I saw you up there on that stage with Kurt and you were so happy. Has Finn ever made you that happy? Because all I've ever seen him do is make you cry."

"I…" For once in her life Rachel was truly honestly speechless.

"I've been patient. I backed off after the nose job thing because I knew you were still hung up on Finn and I wasn't going there again. Then in New York you talked about how you need to be alone, you need to find yourself again and that was cool. I got that. I just thought when you were finally ready for someone again, it just, it should have been _me_."

Rachel reached up and kissed him softly. Puck moved to slide his arm around her waist but she pulled away before he could pull her closer. "I didn't kiss Finn, he kissed me," Rachel whispered. "I told him I was leaving, I told him that when school was over I was leaving and never looking back. He suggested that we continue a relationship until then but I said I couldn't see the point. I couldn't in good conscious continue on with a relationship I know for sure had no future. Finn is not coming to New York and I'm not even sure at this point it would matter if he did."

"So you guys aren't getting back together?" Puck asked and Rachel shook her head.

They sat in the truck for a second in silence and then Rachel turned to Puck. "What did you need earlier?" Puck frowned and looked at her confused. "What were you doing in the library?"

"I was doing some research about schools in New York." Puck reached into his bag and pulled out the papers he'd printed out. "I thought…I don't know. Shue says if I'm really serious he'll help me with my grades and applying for student loans and shit."

"You want to go to school in New York?" Rachel asked flipping through the pages.

"Yeah why?" Puck narrowed his eyes. "You think I can't do it?"

"No, no, that's not…" Rachel shoved the papers back into his hands then reached into her bag, pulling her own stack of papers out. "I was thinking about what you said about the astronauts and about spending the rest of your life trying to get back to New York and I just, I didn't think you needed to wait that long." She handed him her papers and he looked down and saw practically the same things that he'd printed out.

"I also checked into some community colleges that only require a few months of in-state residency for acceptance. You could go there for a year and rack up some credits, up your GPA before applying to some State schools." She stopped and took a deep breath, waiting to see what he thought.

"So you did all this research without even talking to me? Just assumed I'd want to go to school in New York with you?" Puck asked looking up at Rachel.

"Not necessarily _with me_, just—and I was right wasn't I?" Rachel pointed out with a smile.

"You got spunk," Puck smiled over at her and Rachel beamed back at him.

"Let me guess, you hate spunk?"she joked.

"Actually, I find it pretty sexy," Puck told her honestly and Rachel blushed.

"Noah, I meant what I said in New York, about being alone for a while, about needing to figure out how to make myself happy." Puck's smile faded a bit and Rachel reached out, laying a hand on his arm. "Look, I don't know how long it's going to take but when I_ am_ ready, you'll be the first to know."

"I can work with that," Puck nodded. He started the truck again and turned to Rachel. "Need a ride home?"

"Yes please," Rachel said and got herself comfortable in the passenger's seat. She reached for the seatbelt then stopped and bent to grab something out of her bag. "I almost forgot. I got you something," she pulled something out of her bag and dropped it in his hand.

Puck looked down and smiled at the small metal replica of the Brooklyn Bridge attached to a key ring. "It's nothing special or anything. I just saw it in the gift shop at the airport and well I thought of you because you threw your keys into the East River so I figured you could use a new key chain." Puck laughed, his mom had been pissed because he'd had the only key to their storage unit on there. He'd thought it was funny at first until he had to drop almost three hundred dollars to have a new key to his truck re-cut.

"Plus I figure it can serve as a reminder of where you're going in the way that gold stars remind me of where I'm going." Puck didn't say anything, just stared down at it and Rachel shook her head. "But it's stupid. You hate it." Rachel reached out to take it back but Puck closed his fist tightly around the key chain and jerked his arm away.

"No," he closed his fist tightly around the key chain and jerked his arm away from her. "No take backs. You gave it to me. It's mine." He reached forward and slid it onto his keys. It hung down a lot lower than his old key chain, tapping against his knee while he drove but Rachel's smile was so huge he didn't even care.

"You want to go get some coffee?" she asked buckling her seat belt. "I don't really feel like going home right away."

"Yeah sure. Lima Bean?" he asked as he put the car in park and pulled out of the parking lot.

Rachel nodded as she typed something on her phone, waited a second then smiled. "I texted Kurt. He and Blaine are going to meet us there. Kurt asks if we get there and they still have some raspberry orange scones to please get one for him because they go fast."

"Yeah 'cause they're fucking awesome." Puck snorted then paused and turned to Rachel. "If they only have one left, I'm totally getting it and _not_ telling Kurt."

"That would be rude and dishonest and I'll only go along with it if you split it with me," Rachel said and Puck laughed.

"Deal."


End file.
